Various waste-to-liquid fuel processes are currently available in the market utilizing embodiments of the Fischer-Tropsch (“F-T Process”) process. The F-T process is a catalyzed chemical reaction in which synthesis gas (a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen) is converted into liquid hydrocarbons of various forms. The synthesis gas may be produced from a variety of sources including, but not limited to, natural gas, coal, waste or any source of hydrocarbons. The reactions of the F-T process may include the following.CHn+H2O→(n/2+1)H2+CO (Synthesis gas formation)2n H2+CO+→—(CH2—)n- +H2O (F-T reaction)
Many of the known waste-to-liquid processes involve direct flame gasification under high pressure while in the presence of steam to produce the synthesis gas. The chemical reaction involves the addition of some oxygen and is represented by the following chemical equation:2C+H2O+O2→CO2+H2+CO
As indicated above, approximately 50% of the carbon is combusted and becomes CO2, thereby producing a large amount of CO2 emissions. As a result of the direct combustion of waste material and solid fuels, the gas may also contain harmful emissions such as nitrogen dioxides and sulfur dioxides. One of the disadvantages of these known processes is the resulting waste gas is diluted with nitrogen and CO2, making direct combustion nearly impossible. Also, to clean the resulting waste gas in order to produce liquid fuel would be very costly. Furthermore, solids gasification produces ash having to be captured, separated and processed.